April 20, 2008

Mixing Reality via Virtual Syndication

The Cisco virtual environment team gets asked to mix reality with virtual all the time. We also get asked to make it easier to participate and view the events we hold in virtual environments. So (drum roll please ;-) this month we are trying an experiment using the Second Life Cable Network to syndicate our TechChat on sensor networks taking place at 1200 PDT on Tuesday, April 22nd.

What does this mean? It means for all of you who can't join us in Second Life at the Cisco Bandwidth Stage you will be able to come to this blog entry and watch the virtual event streaming live via an embedded web page feed. For those of you who missed this live you can view the archive of the event below now.

Please let us know what you think of this new format by submitting a comment to this blog entry. This new format is a direct result of your feedback to make accessing the events held in virtual environments easier for all interested parties. So you see we really do value your feedback and would appreciate more of it!

Posted by Dannette Veale at 10:38 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

April 15, 2008

The Internet of Things

Jean Philippe Vasseur, a Distinguished Engineer with the NSSTG Systems and Technology Architecture team, has a passion—something he refers to as "The Internet of things." The concept of a world where inanimate objects communicate with us and one another over the network via tiny intelligent object fascinates Vasseur.

While sensor technology such as motion detecting lights have been around for quite some time now, not much has been done to enable your door to tell your light to turn on via a hand on the doorknob. Vasseur’s efforts could be a catalyst to change this, and rapidly so if he gets his wish.

What does he see as an example of the proof of the power of sensor driven networks?
"For example, you could have millions of sensors across any large city that could measure the air quality, pollution, and noise, connected together to improve the quality of life and save energy, and the number of examples involving Sensor Networks is endless (Connected home, Intelligent buildings, Smart Cities, ...)." Vasseur explains.

What does he see as a challenge to achieving this goal?
"Right now, it’s a world of proprietary systems, and that’s one of the reasons it hasn’t taken off," he says. "There are literally dozens of protocols coming from dozens of companies, and if you’re interested in applying sensor technology to a huge network, you’re going to face a number of interoperability challenges. Technology A won’t work with Technology B, and none of the technology will currently run over IP. This is why we truly believe in the use of IP for these networks."

To hear more about the 'Internet of Things' and 'Sensor Networks' come out to the Cisco Second Life Bandwidth Stage next Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 1200 PDT to hear John Philippe discuss the idea of the Internet of Things and ask your questions of him during a presentation followed by an interactive Q&A.

Posted by Dannette Veale at 09:09 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

April 03, 2008

(Almost) Live from Virtual Worlds 2008

While there are daily virtual conferences in the various metaversal platforms, there are infrequent 'live' meetings of people in the virtual world business. A top show in this space is the Virtual Worlds conference, arranged by Chris Sherman. I was a speaker at the 2007 event, and they are holding their 2008 New York VW show today and tomorrow at the Javitz center in Manhattan.

Although many have been concerned about the industry after the standard hype/backlash cycle that has been applied to virtual worlds over the last year, the attendance at the show is a record 1200 people (which, although small by Interop or Comdex standards, is actually very large for an emerging technology-centric conference). The audience for this show (as was the case at last year's NYC show) is primarily composed of people from the advertising and entertainment industries, with the Rosie O'Neill, Chief Barbie Officer from Mattel providing this morning's keynote presentation on how the Barbie brand is extending into virtual communities.

And no, I didn't make up that title, that's her real title.

If you are in the New York area, there is one more day (Friday) of conference proceedings and I would suggest stopping by and experiencing the excitement and creative energy of this emerging industry.

Posted by Christian Renaud at 02:23 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)